Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 21:55:40 GMT
From: barrettn_at_flex.net (Barrett Nicholas)
Subject: [E36M3] Inexpensive high temp brake fluid?

There was a brake fluid thread going a while back that I had wanted to add this post about Ford Heavy Duty brake fluid to, but I couldn't find it at the time - I just found it, so hopefully better late than never - the only thing is that I've heard it's DOT3HD (?) rather than DOT4 - anyone know exactly what difference that'd make, assuming it's true? From what I know:

DOT Brake Fluid Specs

                    DOT 3  DOT 4  DOT 5 Ford DOT3HD       
                    -----  -----  -----
Dry Boiling Point   401F   446F   500F   550F
Wet Boiling Point   284F   311F   356F     ?

Are there other differences? I already know the DOT 5 is silicone based and incompatible (another reason to dislike silicone!) with glycol based DOT 3 &4.

(Here's some more info on it, the email address for the persons posting this back in '96 bounce, so I haven't been able to get any info from the horse's mouth.)

>>Just thought I'd add to the thread -- lots'a racers use Ford High
>>Performance -- doesn't sound as glitsy as Mutul or ATE Super (whatever color
>>they have now), but it does have a dry boiling point of 550F and is about $4
>>a pint. Funny thing is that when I bought it, the Ford parts guy asked if I
>>was putting it in an Acura or a race car when I said it wasn't for a Ford --
>>'parently it's a big time secret for you NSX'ers out there too..... Rumor
>>has it that it's made by Castrol -- anybody know fur sure?
>
>I learned about this when I was on Fordnatics. Basically, Ford designed
>one of their full-size trucks with the brake line right next to the
>exhaust. People had trouble with this heating the brake fluid too much.
>So rather than redesign their trucks (and so the solution would help the
>owners of the few million already built), they made high-temp brake fluid
>available at relatively inexpensive prices. Rumor has it that it is
>really some godawfully expensive European brand repackaged. Many racers
>use this. It's come up among the Mustang crowd, on the autox list,
>somewhere I remember in the context of BMW's... Definitely worth a try.
>I've used it for two years now and it works just as well as the racing fluid I used
> previously at 1/3 the cost! Works on the track or the street.
>Ford Part No. C6AZ-19542-AA

Barrett N.
Houston, Texas